When Donald Trump was first elected in 2016, New York State resident Ellen Robillard briefly looked into getting Canadian citizenship. Her mother, after all, was born in Nova Scotia.
NEW YORK CITY — When Donald Trump was first elected in 2016, New York State resident Ellen Robillard briefly considered obtaining Canadian citizenship. Her mother, after all, was born in Nova Scotia.As a Democrat, Robillard was despondent over the election results, but she abandoned the idea after realizing that her young son wouldn't be eligible for citizenship under a law that barred Canadians born abroad from passing their citizenship to children who were also born outside Canada.
In 2023, however, the Canadian courts ruled that the law was unconstitutional and the changes to eligibility came into effect in December, suddenly opening up a pathway to Canadian citizenship for many Americans at a time of political upheaval, violence, and uncertainty in the U.S.Robillard, 52, is applying for citizenship with her son now that the first-generation rule has been scrapped.Since the criteria for citizenship expanded with the passage of Bill C-3 of Canada's Citizenship Act, millions of Americans have become eligible to claim Canadian citizenship. The amendment reverses a "first-generation" limit imposed by Canada's Conservative government in 2009.As the leader of her local Democratic Committee in a suburb of Rochester, New York, Robillard fears that if the political violence escalates, she could have a target on her back.Robillard is an outspoken activist in her town of 3,000, has received veiled threats on social media, and was once followed home after a protest.She's suffered from burnout, depression and insomnia over political disagreements and has fallen out with friends and family. She's become increasingly disillusioned with her life in the U.S."I really don't recognize my world anymore," Robillard said.A spring trip to her mother's birthplace of Nova Scotia last year helped her reconnect with her Canadian heritage and cemented the idea."The experience of being there was so interesting. I felt like a different person there. It was so much less stressful. Everyone was nicer," she said. "I observed so many positive interactions between people and it just made my heart so full to be there."The revised law will allow her to pass on her citizenship to her son, who is now 19. In light of the political climate in the U.S., both are gathering the required documents in preparation for her Plan B."If things start deteriorating here with our economy, I know that I can just get in the car and go. It's an option anyway."H
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